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Teachers, parents allege hostile environment
Parents and former teachers say that’s happening at one elementary school in Canton. And they blame the principal. FOX 2 first learned of this issue last week after reporting the exclusive story of a 1st grader with special needs wandering away from class several times.
CANTON, Mich. (FOX 2) - With the school year well underway, chances are your kids have their favorite teachers they can’t live without, but what if that teacher upped and quit out of the blue?
Big picture view:
Parents and former teachers say that’s happening at one elementary school in Canton. And they blame the principal. FOX 2 first learned of this issue last week after reporting the exclusive story of a 1st grader with special needs wandering away from class several times.
Since then, FOX 2 learned of more problems at Bentley Elementary School. One teacher says she and about 20 of her colleagues quit the school over the last couple of years or so, including some leaving halfway through the last academic period.
Some teachers have even called it a career taking an early retirement. A few of them say after more than two decades of service, the school administration suddenly criticized their lesson plans, schedules, attendance and more. And they don’t know what.
"I’m shocked, honestly. Nothing like this has ever happened before and I’m gonna get emotional because it affected my kids," said parent Amy Jubenville. "They (loved their) teachers who left midyear because of circumstances that we didn’t understand at the time. And, when you have teachers who are faithful, who are highly recognized, who are there for your kids, and then they just abruptly leave, it leaves questions. The kids coming home from school: ‘mom, my teacher? What happened to my teacher?"
The other side:
FOX 2 did get this statement from the District Administration:
"Plymouth-Canton Community Schools takes every complaint seriously and investigates concerns in accordance with Board policy. The District is aware of the matter involving Bentley Elementary School, and the investigation is still pending. We have received a significant amount of information, both publicly and through the investigation process, and are committed to conducting a fair and thorough investigation that respects the rights of all parties. We are not able to comment further at this time."
We did a door knock on the principal’s house to get their side of what was going on. FOX 2 reached out to them on social media, but we haven’t heard back just yet.